The Paper House Under the Shed Roof

The Paper House Under the Shed Roof

1Ottilie had one summer chore: every morning she filled the birdbath beside the old shed in the backyard. On the first warm day of June, she stopped halfway across the grass. Under the edge of the shed roof hung a gray, papery nest about the size of her fist. Slim wasps with long, dangling legs flew in and out.

2Ottilie dropped the watering can and ran inside. Two summers ago, a wasp had stung her on the hand at a ball game, and she had never forgotten it. "Dad, there are wasps by the shed!" she cried. "Can you spray them?" Dad frowned. "I'll pick up some spray at the store this weekend," he said.

3That afternoon, their neighbor Mr. Kowalczyk was trimming his hedge when Ottilie told him about the nest. He set down his clippers and looked from a safe distance. "Paper wasps," he said. "Before your dad sprays them, would you watch them with me for a few days? If you still want them gone after that, I won't say another word." Ottilie did not want to go anywhere near the shed, but she agreed.

4Each morning, they sat on Mr. Kowalczyk's porch steps with a pair of binoculars. Ottilie saw a wasp land on his wooden fence and scrape at the gray boards. "She is chewing wood into pulp," Mr. Kowalczyk explained. "Her nest is made of paper she makes herself." Through the binoculars, Ottilie could see tiny six-sided rooms on the bottom of the nest. Later, she watched another wasp carry a green caterpillar back to the nest. "That's food for the young wasps," Mr. Kowalczyk said. "Some caterpillars chew holes in garden plants."

5By Saturday, Ottilie was still a little nervous, but she was also curious. She had learned that paper wasps usually leave people alone unless someone bumps or swats at their nest. When Dad came home with the spray, she took a deep breath. "Can we leave them?" she asked. "I'll walk slowly and keep my distance." Dad thought for a moment. Then he carried the birdbath to the far side of the yard so she would not have to go near the shed.

6All summer, Ottilie kept her promise, and the wasps never bothered her. In late fall, the nest grew quiet. When the cold weather came, Mr. Kowalczyk explained, the worker wasps died, and the young queens flew off to spend the winter in sheltered spots. The empty nest would not be used again.

7Wearing gloves, Dad checked that the nest was empty and gently took it down for her. That week, she brought it to school in a shoebox. She held it up so her class could see the paper rooms. "I used to be scared of wasps," she told them. "I'm still careful around them, but now I understand them, and that makes them much less scary."